Chronicle nets two top awards

Newspaper wins in sports, news, feature categories

SEATTLE  When it comes to non-daily newspapers in Eastern Washington, The Chronicle is the only one to receive awards recently in a regional Society of Professional Journalists contest.

The weekly newspaper earned two first-place awards and seven others in the 2012 Society of Professional Journalists’ Northwest Excellence in Journalism Contest.

Reporter Dee Camp won for “He’s always ready to tie one on” in the personalities category, a feature story published June 17 about Okanogan High School Principal Bob Shacklett’s collection of 155 – at that time – ties.

Publisher Roger Harnack took first in the news photography category for “Optimism grows on fireline,” a photo printed Sept. 19 of a helicopter carrying water in front of a glowing red, smoky sunset over the Okanogan Complex Fire in the Methow Valley. Former managing editor Cary Rosenbaum and Julie Bock won second place for “Gas War” in the business reporting category. The Nov. 7 article examined a drop of about 60 cents per gallon from the previous weekend at two competing gas stations in Okanogan.